Looking for the Final Light
by animeclicker
Summary: Ellie and Joel continue their journey to find a new hope for a cure...a hope that doesn't include their death
1. Prologue

I felt the fear running through my body. The image of Tess dying was always on my mind and the sound of the guns shooting at us was just too much for me to handle.  
Joel was running in front of me. The sound of guns was scaring him too. We had no guns, no bows…nothing. Our feet would have to be enough to escape .I heard them getting closer and their footsteps were getting louder by the second.

-Grab the little girl! – I heard one of them yelling. – Shoot the man! – At that moment I knew that both of us were in danger and that we needed to run as fast as we can.

I could already see the big concrete walls that protected the city where Tom and Maria were living. The moment I saw them was the happiest moment of my life until now. I knew I would be safe and that everything after this would be good. I could already see Tom at the top of the walls, shotgun in his hands, pointing at the guys running after us.  
Suddenly I felt something in my leg and I felt my pants getting warmer and wet. Ignoring it, I kept running but failed. The pain started to attack me and I fell to the ground yelling and crying in pain. _Is this it? Am I finally going to see Tess and Riley? I couldn't stay by their side as they died, but I can see them again. _Blood was violently pouring and I could feel myself getting dizzy.  
I heard shots and people yelling. I saw arrows flying above me and heard Maria yelling to Joel.

-Grab her! – She yelled.

-Come here baby girl. – I heard Joel running towards me and his arms quickly pulled me up and pushed me against his chest. – We're almost there. It's just a bullet. You…We can make it.


	2. Chapter 1

The gates were open. The screeching and Joel screaming for help were the only things I could hear. Suddenly I realized I could no longer hear properly, I saw someone shooting in the other side of the gate but I couldn't hear them. Joel was holding me so close. I felt both comfortable and protected at the same time. I saw Maria running towards us and taking me from Joel's arms. My leg went limp. I couldn't feel anything and the pain was finally disappearing. I kept thinking to myself. _Is this it? _

-We can still save her. – Maria yelled as she entered the infirmary. – Peter! - A man in his 30's appeared from nowhere and started to work around my leg.

Maria slowly descended me onto a metal table. Peter and other two nurses approached me and injected me with something. I let out a small sound of pain as the needle poked my arm. After that, my vision got blurry.

-Everything's going to be ok. – One of the nurses said. – Just relax.

I woke up in the same table but this time I was alone. I could hear people talking outside. For what I recognized, it was Joel and Tom.

-All the noises that you made us do brought some infected near our town. – He said with an angry tone. – Why the fuck did you go outside…with no fucking weapons? Better than anyone, you know what's outside.

-We were just going for a walk. How was I suppose to know that a bunch of hunters would come chasing us down the streak?

-Joel…you're my brother and you know that I want what's best for you. If you died…

-Stop right there. I wouldn't die. I knew exactly where we were going and I know the surroundings better than you. The only thing you've got to be worried about is Maria and the town. Ellie and I can take care of ourselves.

-Doesn't look like it…

-Just let me go see her! – Joel yelled shoving his brother aside. The door slowly opened and I saw Joel's face peeking in. – Hey. – He smiled. – How are you now?

-I don't know. – I said. – A bit dizzy and I still can't feel my leg. What happened? – I asked falling to the side as I tried to stand up.

-C'mon, let me help you. – Joel said as he came close to me and helping me sitting. – The doctor extracted the bullet and said that you couldn't do any sudden movements with that leg for some time.

-How long?

-2 months.

Joel must have seen the look in my face and quickly started to say that everything would be alright and that he would take care of me. Also, why should I be sad or worried? We are in a safe place for once. No infected, no hunters. It's good in here. Hell! I should be fucking happy. I survived all that before. Being a survivor should be enough to me. But a recurrent thought always came to mind. _But…why do I feel sad and empty?_.

-Ellie? – Joel snapped a finger in front of me to get my attention. – Did you hear what I said?

-Hum...sorry, no. Please repeat.

-I said that we should go check the town. We've been here for two weeks and still haven't seen half of this….and it's not that big.

Oh yeah. The only thing we have been doing is work for Tom and Maria. I mean, it's not that bad. I help Maria when it comes to searching for information about other survivors and I make sure every new survivor that we found wasn't bitten or anything that might turn him into an infected thus harming our little "society". Joel was helping Tom in the hydroelectric dam. It still had some problems and Joel offered to help out. If they weren't there, they would be searching for food and trying to protect the rest of us.  
We haven't really had any time for ourselves. Not that I'm complaining. I like to help others but I need my own time…as a matter of fact, I still haven't read the comic books Joel found.

-But…my leg…

-Oh right. – Joel turned around and searched around the round. – Here they are. – He grabbed a pair of crutches. – This should help.

He gave me the crutches and saw as I tried to walk with those. My leg was still really numb and it was hard to walk around with it but the crutches were a big help.

-Is it good? Does it hurt?

-It's good, Joel and no, it doesn't hurt.

-Come – He said. – Let's see the town.


	3. Chapter 2

As I started to walk towards the door I noticed that Joel was waiting for me on the other side. I could feel that something was wrong with him. The previous conversation he had with his brother was filled with anger, unlike any other I've seen. Sometimes I think that Joel doesn't fit here with the rest of the survivors. For example, when he isn't working, he's always outside, exploring and trying to find new ways to get through all this shit, the infected, the hunters and even the dumbshit cannibals. He still hasn't spoken with anyone besides me, Maria and Tommy. Sometimes I think that he will leave me here alone and go outside to explore at his own risk. The truth is… I don't want to be here without him.

-C'mon Ellie. – He said as he closed the door behind us and got putting an arm around my shoulders just so I could feel secure. – Let's check this town.

I smiled and started to walk by his side down the street. The houses were made of wood and actually looked like they were in good conditions but, when you looked closely you could see all the damage there. It was not material, it was personal. There were people on the porches. They all had their clothes ripped apart. As we walked, we saw a little kid lying down in the dirt. His house was right behind him and it was one of the better ones. Though, when you looked at him, you could see he was sad, bruised and probably hasn't taken a bath in some days or even weeks. I could feel Joel looking away and continuing to walk. We were only a few feet away from the kid when we heard someone yelling. It was a woman.

-No! – She yelled. – Stop!

I turned my head around and saw a woman with a long brown dress in front of the kid in a protective way. In front of them was a man with a gun pointed at them. His finger trembling on the trigger. I made Joel stop. It was like an image taken from some kind of old movie where the wife gets abused and the husband wanted to put an end to his family.

-Joel…

-I know.

Joel went running there and punched the man in the face shoving aside. He grabbed the woman's hand and helped her to get up from the ground. I couldn't really hear what they were saying but Joel quickly came over to me and turned me around and forced me to walk…I mean...try to walk.

-What…What happened?

-The boy was bitten, Ellie. – He was walking with his head down, avoiding eye contact with me.

-When? How?

-According to the woman, it was a few hours ago. She doesn't know how that happened but when he left to go play with some friends, he was completely fine, not even a scratch. – He took a deep breath and I saw a tremendous pain on his face. – When he came back a few minutes ago, his dad saw that he was bleeding from his arm. He asked how he did that but the kid didn't tell him. When he inspected it closer, there was a clear bite mark around the bleeding…

-Why did he go outside those walls?! – I yelled more in a way of suffering than any other thing. – He knows that the world is full of shit. Shit that will kill you. Shit like Clickers!

-Just….Leave it.

-Leave it and what? Let the kid die? – I asked looking at a sad Joel.

-Ellie…

We heard a gunshot, followed by a scream, followed by another gunshot. Joel and I looked back. We were now way further away from where we were before but we could still see the woman standing with the gun lowered and her hands trembling. In the ground was the corpse of her child and her husband. She looked at us and I clearly saw her face and her line of thinking. **_I couldn't do anything about it _**was the only thing I could see on her face. Tears started to stream down her face as I saw her pull the gun to her head.

-No… - I whispered as I saw her killing herself. I understand why she did it. I do. The feeling of guilt when she killed her family was tremendous and she couldn't live with it thus putting an end to her life.

I killed and saw people getting killed every day of my life but this was just too much for me. I was sobbing and I could feel the cold tears running down my face. Maybe I was just scared by the feeling that it might happen to me and that I'd have to end the life of someone close to me, that I'd have to end with Joel's life on my hands. I almost lost him once…I don't want it to happen again…ever.

Running from the walls came two large muscled men that had ak-47s on their back.  
Joel slightly pushed me to the front and we started to walk again. I guess he didn't want the guys to see us because they would probably associate us to the killing and we'd end up killed or thrown back into the wild.  
I wiped my tears with my sleeve and, like a miracle, right in front of me, I saw a working restaurant. I haven't eaten anything well prepared in a long time. The restaurant was almost full with only a table or two available.

-We should go there someday. – Joel said while looking at me with a small smile.

**A/N: i'll try to publish a chapter every two days or something like. Even sooner if i can. I really hope you guys are liking it :)**


	4. Chapter 3 - Part 1

We kept walking through the town. Everything seemed peaceful. There were no fights, the guards were patrolling on top of the walls to make sure that there were no strangers or infected outside.

-Want to go back? – Joel asked looking around. – There isn't much more to see.

-Ok, sure.

When we were heading back to our home we heard yelling, people were running from the gates. A woman fell right in front of us and quickly got up and started to run again. 5 seconds passed and the sound of guns started to echo throughout the small town.

-Stay here. – Joel said while he helped me to sit on the front porch of someone's house. The wooden floor creaked and someone from inside looked at us trough the small net window on the door.

-What do you guys want?

-Behave. – He said to me as he gave me a shiv. – Please take care of her. – And ran off.

The person opened the door and I could clearly see his small brown hair and his torn up clothes. His face clearly showed that he didn't want to make any new friends. – What's your name?

-Ellie. – I answered as I looked back at the street – And yours? – There were a lot of people running and falling and I wasn't completely sure of how so many people could live here. It was so small. Was there another town nearby?

-You don't need to know my name. – He said as he leaned against the wall. – As soon as your father comes back, I don't want to see you here ever again.

-He's not my father. – I said softly. – And don't worry, you'll never see me near your shitty self or your shitty house. – For a brief moment I looked back at him and smiled at him.

-Fucking kids….thinking they rule the world…they would be better off dead. – He said as he entered the house leaving me alone in the porch. All I could see was the sunset and people running to their homes to find some place to hide.

The minutes passed and suddenly everything went quiet. The wind that characterizes the end of the day was so soft but when it hit the side of the houses, it made them creak and that noise was the only thing I could hear.  
The man appeared again…well his face did. I could see his face through the net.

-What?

-Just checking to see if you were finally dead.

-I'm not. – I said waving one of the crutches in front of his face. – You see!

His face froze and I started to laugh. His eyes were wide open and he started to back way, closing the door as soon as he got in the house. – Don't make any noise. – He whispered. I looked around and that's when I saw it. There was a clicker roaming in the streets. It was just one and I could easily take him down if my leg wasn't fucked. I silently put my crutches back down and tried not to do any sudden moves.  
For about 5 seconds, the clicker stood there in the middle but after he turned to the house we were and started limping over to us. I could clearly hear his sounds. The clicker was now by the door and a loud bang inside the house made him start to attack the door with viscous scratches. The door was strong but at the same time it wasn't completely closed so the man was struggling to close it and end all that.

-A little help! – He yelled from inside the house.

I picked up my crutch and threw it at the clicker trying to get his attention. – You own me one…if I survive! – The clicker came to me but thanks to my long crutch I could maintain a certain distance between us. A few seconds later, the man came outside with a knife and stabbed the infected. – Thanks. – I said tired.

-No…thank you. – He said putting one hand on my right shoulder. – I'm Jake.

**A/N: This chapter will have a second part. Sorry it took so long to update, i'll try to post the next one soon. Hope you like it :)**


	5. Chapter 3 - Part 2

As I ran to the gates to see what was going on, a kid tripped and fell right in front of me. He was terrified. His eyes were begging for help and I helped him up and as quick as a lightning his mother took him from my hands and ran to the back of the town. In those brief seconds that I had him in my hands, I could see he was thankful.  
I continue to run to the gates and when I finally got there…it was chaos. There were infected coming through the gates and killing people that weren't fast enough to run away. The guards were shooting at them but, with the gates open, more and more were entering and destroying the small population. I grabbed my revolver and started to make my away to the gates. Until I got to the gates I killed some of the infected in my way that shortly fell screeching. When I got to the gates, I yelled to the guards on top of the walls to cover me and started to push the gates so that they would close. _How the fuck did this things got open? Who got them open? _

-Joel! – I heard someone yell behind me. – Let me help you.

When I looked to my side, I saw Maria trying to help me by closing the other gate. As we were closing them I could see a horde of infected incoming. – Quickly! – I yelled to Maria. A few seconds passed and the gates were finally closed and the number of infected seemed to be decreasing. To help, I grabbed my revolver again and shot the infected down. There weren't any other infected alive in our area and hopefully there weren't any more across the city.

-How did this happen? – I asked trying to catch my breath and leaning against the gate.

Maria looked up to the guards did a thumbs up signaling that everything was ok. – I have no idea. I went home for a couple of minutes and suddenly I heard everyone yelling. I came outside and this was happening. – She looked up again and rested her hands on her hips. – Do any of you guys know?

One of the guards came down the ladder and jumped when he was just a few steps away from the ground. – There was someone here before me. He was the one watching the gates. It's Jake. If you want to know anything about how this happened you should go speak with him.

-Thanks. – Maria said and looked at me. –Thanks for the help, Joel.

-No problem.

Maria walked away alongside the guard. I checked myself to see if I had any bite marks or scratches done by those fucking infected. I was clear, another day without dying.  
I looked up and saw one of the guards shooting the outside. There were still runners and clickers outside the gates and, although they couldn't get in, it was for the best that they were killed and have their bodies burnt just to be sure and so that they couldn't release any spores.  
Everything was quiet and I could finally see a proper sunset. No more infected or hunters for the rest of day. The orange color of the sunset was beautiful and the wave that it emanates transmitted a sense of tranquility and peace upon the small town. I could feel the rays of sun entering my skin and relaxing every muscle on me. It was….amazing, but I couldn't fall asleep there so I walked back to the house where I left Ellie. Along the way I could see the guards and the people returning home picking up the clothes that spent the day drying, repairing any damage done to their homes and gathering the bodies of the infected that sneaked into the city. Those once beautiful colors were now brown, black or a really dark green. Every other house I could see a piece of colorful clothing. It was sad.

-Hey Joel! – I heard Ellie shouting and looked at her waving the crutch in the air.

I walked to the house and kneeled in front of her. – Is everything ok? Did you have to use the shiv? Was he….

-No. – Ellie said interrupting me. – Everything is fine, no I didn't need to use the shiv but we had some problems and no, he's good…friendly even.

-What kind of problems?

-Well….a clicker found his way here. We fought him together but I panicked a bit because I couldn't really do much since my leg is straight up fucked.

-Where is the body? We have to burn it.

-Don't worry about that. Jake already did that.

-Jake? – When Ellie was about to say something, I heard Maria yelling from inside the house. Her voice was smooth and sweet when calm but when she got angry….oh boy, that woman becomes a hurricane.

-I COULDN'T POSSIBLY KNOW! – A manly voice, that I assumed that was Jake, said. – YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME, FOR FUCK SAKE!

**I wanted to do something different with this part so here, i present you with Joel's perspective. Hope you liked it :) again, sorry for the late upload.**


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